With President Xi Jinpin’s ongoing first ever state visit to the UK, which has great history and strong presence in soccer, China is expected to speed up boosting the sport in the country with the newly aligned China-UK tie alongside the extensive government-oriented sports reform since last year.

Well, this also means great opportunity for English Premier League and its clubs to grow in a country where promoting soccer is regarded as a priority to its national sports reform.

Earlier last month, Chinese VP Liu Yandong had made a governmental approach to talk about potential partnerships on soccer tie between China and UK with her attendance at the UK-China Football Forum.

And not long after Liu Yandong’s trip, Chancellor of the UK announced a £3million funding into Chinese remote rural areas to boost the grassroots soccer as part of the English Premier League’s Premier Skills Scheme. The project, which is dedicated to brand the EPL by helping promote grassroots soccer, has trained over 800 coaches in China over the last seven years. Moreover, it will eventually cover as many as 1.2 million Chinese youngsters who are interested in the sport considering the number of soccer coaches it would have trained.

Apart from grassroots soccer, professional training camps or soccer schools backed by EPL giants are also expected to emerge in the country within a fairly short time as China will be largely needed in professional coaches and administrators when fulfilling the plan of  20,000 to-be-built soccer schools. In this perspective, EPL sides like Manchester City, with Chinese President’s visit, and Arsenal will see their opportunities in branding and promotion together with by setting up camps or schools in the country.

Additionally, there could be more opportunities for the EPL clubs to connect with Chinese brands which are eager to seek for international exposure and identifying branding. And in China’s domestic league side as well, we’re expected to see more partnerships between CSL teams and EPL clubs.

Overall, the English Premier League could easily take advantage of the soccer tie, highlighted by President Xi’s state visit to UK and to Manchester City FC, to make a stronger presence in China. With China’s big investment in the sport and the eagerness for high-profile soccer, the Premier League and its clubs can welcome an age of opportunity in the country.